What’s the Point of the Word of Wisdom?

I thought I’d piggyback off Dave’s post on the Church’s latest article clarifying how vaping, green tea, and marijuana fit in to the Word of Wisdom, although none of these are mentioned in D&C 89. This clarification is likely the result of two things: 1) these specific items are mainstream now, more popular than substances in prior church statements, and 2) in the research Jana Reiss covers in The Next Mormons, LDS millenials are drinking coffee in record numbers (particularly since when I was growing up, those numbers hovered around zero).

We can’t really discuss the point of the Word of Wisdom without understanding its historical context. It was originally given in D&C 89 “not by way of commandment.” It was only required starting in 1921, and then not really enforced in the Temple Recommend interview until the mid-20th century. The phrase “hot drinks” is taken literally for members of other restoration sects who wait for their coffee to cool before drinking it. Church leaders have had strong differing opinions about Word of Wisdom-adjacent items like colas, chocolate and rum cake. [1]

When we ask what the point of the Word of Wisdom is, we might also ask what the point of it was vs. what it is now. They may not be the same thing at all. For example, I always wondered how some of the following factors played into the evolution of the Word of Wisdom:

Joseph Smith’s father’s drinking habits

The expense of tea and coffee, that were mostly imports, for early saints

Health crazes like the Battle Creek Sanitarium (run by Kellogg, yes the cereal guy) that became all the rage in the mid-1800s

Difficulty with meat being tainted due to lack of refrigeration and poor inspection standards

The emergence of colas which were originally laced with highly-addictive cocaine

Temperance movements in the US

Prohibition and the accompanying attitudes thanks to the Roaring 20s

The backlash against the counter-cultural movement in the 1960s

Now, the rise of Starbucks (OK, maybe a decade or more ago, but the Church tends to operate on a lag)

So with all that in mind, what is the current main point of the Word of Wisdom? Here are some possibilities:

Health Code. This rationale states that the Word of Wisdom is about being physically healthy so you can run and not be weary and be receptive to the Spirit. Detractors of the Word of Wisdom like to note that Mormons have many unhealthy habits that aren’t prohibited by the Word of Wisdom (sugary drinks for one, and I’ll include canned mushroom soup as a base–white sauce isn’t rocket science, people!). And I would add that tea drinking has no effect whatsoever on longevity; the longest lived people are those on the island of Okinawa, and tea is very popular there.

Addiction Avoidance. This is specifically mentioned in the latest clarifying article from the Church. It could also be linked to the softer party line on colas which are not generally considered “addictive” because they are easy to quit drinking and don’t have serious side effects. Coffee and tea are far more addictive due to higher caffeine content, and nicotine has a well-documented history of addiction and negative side effects including birth defects, cancer, and death. While alcohol is not always addictive, when it is it carries significant negative impacts to the individual and family members. Likewise, marijuana has been shown to increase paranoia and decrease ambition. Go figure, the creators of Reefer Madness weren’t 100% wrong, although I haven’t seen anyone play the piano maniacally while half-baked.

Tribal Cohesion. Behavior codes, particularly those that involve eating practices, have a strong link with social cohesion. Those who don’t drink are less likely to socialize with those who do (and vice-versa). Those who are vegan don’t usually go to BBQ restaurants. In ancient Israel, food prohibitions were linked to “uncleanliness” and they resulted in a strong disincentive to marry outside the faith. That still holds some sway today for church members.

Increasing member commitment. Psychological studies show that the more Churches require of their members in terms of sacrifice, the longer-term the commitment of the members. When we give up a lot to attain something, we value it more, and we find it harder to leave it (thank you, sunk cost fallacy).

Tradition. This one doesn’t hold up for me because we’ve re-clarified the Word of Wisdom so many times, but I’ll throw it out there. If you think this is the main reason we have a Word of Wisdom, what you are saying is that it’s due to the inability to let go of past well-documented dogmas. I think that’s a valid observation (we seldom do let go of these traditions that make us unique–we have a multi-generational sunk cost fallacy going on), but as I said, we keep “reinventing” and re-investing in the Word of Wisdom, updating what it means, so to me, that’s more than just holding on to the past.

Other. If you think the main current reason is something else, tell us what you think that is in the comments.

Let’s take a vote. Defend your answer in the comments. I’m only giving you the ability to choose one, so pick the one you think is the main current reason.

[1] David O. McKay drank Coca Cola and ate rum cake. E. Uchtdorf has joked about drinking Diet Coke over the pulpit in Gen eral Conference. BYU banned the sale of caffeinated soda for years, claiming disingenuously that there was no demand for it (not sure how Carrie Jenkins answered the question about being honest in all her dealings, but maybe all PR people should get a pass on that one). Bruce R. McConkie felt that chocolate should be verboten.

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Published by hawkgrrrl

Hawkgrrrl has been blogging since March 2008, publishing hundreds of opinion pieces. She is a wife and mother of three, a business executive, a returned missionary, and is active in her LDS ward. She likes oil painting, reading, theater, and international travel.
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32 thoughts on “What’s the Point of the Word of Wisdom?”

Really enjoyed both Dave B’s and this post. That said, I’m fascinated that your post never uses the words “canon” or “scripture.” You do mention D&C 89, but only to quote the passage that undercuts its having been canonized. I say all that to say the main point I grabbed on to the strongest is the one you downplayed: “Tradition.” Though I totally get why you downplayed it, not trying to nay say your point. Still…

For all the evolving personalized ways people interact with this purported revelation, probably just so they can hold their heads up in temple recommend interviews, I think tradition means a lot. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints canonized the Word of Wisdom, essentially going all in on it. That welds it to our culture and traditions. So now members living in ever-changing times have to keep re-clarifying D&C 89 so that it continues feeling rightly canonical–much the same way members keep re-clarifying the degree to which they regard the Book of Mormon and the Pearl of Great Price as authentic scripture. Anyhow, my own sense is that D&C 89 makes all kinds of good health sense, and much of the absurdity comes from the flawed ways in which it has been implemented by the church and members. Mmmm, my ice coffee with no cream or sugar is kicking in. Good morning!

I’m also in the tradition mood. It may be important to emphasize that tradition is no small thing. “How we do it” or “the traditions of the fathers/mothers” are historically powerful phrases. And historically resisted and resented by new generations until they become the fathers and mothers.

By tradition I do think of awkwardness around “hot drinks” and poor correlation between the Section 89 text and the practices of the Heber J. Grant and subsequent period especially. Actual practice is more lore and tradition as it is statute.

Most of all, I think the tradition is best described as a strong purity culture ethic which shows up in many ways. Including strict adherence to a version of the WoW in the temple recommend interview (Grant) turns advice and wisdom into command. A classic purity culture move.

I voted for avoiding addictive substances, because most of WoW prohibitions are/can be addictive.

Tradition/tribalism/commitment are valid points too though.

A health code it isn’t – there is no mention of exercising or eating/drinking healthily.

In Europe we only avoid black tea, though some won‘t drink green tea either.

My 17 year old drinks black coffee and the occasional Espresso and loves them. If I were to give up on the WoW, and I haven‘t yet although I am a non-believing member, this is where I would start. I am jealous sometimes of my colleagues coffee-fueled energy. Soda isn’t strong enough for me, I don‘t like the taste of diet soda and I refuse to put energy drinks into my body.

The original impetus for the Word of Wisdom was Emma Smith’s disgust at having to clean up spittle from chewing tobacco left by the School of the Prophets. Since that time, the church has focused on the blessings of health promised in the revelation, but the power dynamics affecting “the weakest of saints” has been largely unexplored. All of the proscribed substances in Word of Wisdom have dramatic power imbalances in their production chains, and cultures of consumption. I think the revelation is speaking to the church in the language of the 19th century health craze in an effort to protect the saints, the weak.

This “what’s the point?” topic really raises pointed questions. Here it really helps to distinguish between justification (the words that come out of your mouth when you tell someone why you don’t drink coffee, etc.) and personal understanding (the reason you think you don’t drink coffee, etc.) and true explanation (the real reason, the real explanation). So, for coffee: your justification to an inquirer might be “it’s the Lord’s law of health we follow in the church”; your personal understanding might be “coffee is no big deal, I can get my morning caffeine from Diet Coke”; and the real reason might be simply peer pressure.

If you add the institutional layer, that’s an extra wrinkle, as many will tell others and even tell themselves the scripted Mormon answer (what an LDS PR person would say) regardless of their own thinking. In fact, my guess is many Mormons are so trained to give the scripted Mormon answer to others and to themselves that they honestly *can’t* formulate their own personal answer. Kind of like how, in Runaway Bride, Julie Roberts’ character really did not know what kind of eggs she liked. I’ll bet some Mormons really can’t answer why they, in terms of personal autonomy and agency, don’t drink coffee. Most Mormons are remarkably un-self-aware.

I voted that it is about commitment of the members, because that is how it is used, and the effect. It is not tradition, because it has changed in my lifetime and continues to evolve. And traditions are important because of the history behind them, and although we all know the history of WoW, it isn’t at all why we keep it. Trek is done because it honors history, so we sent our kids out to walk in the desert because we honor the history behind it. Although I never did trek because we didn’t have it yet, it still fits as tradition. Addiction avoidance is how prohibited item were selected, but not the why behind why we do it. Otherwise sugar would be added because sugar is also addictive. (Try going cold turkey on all refined sugar. You get cravings and often depression.) I really liked ChristianKimbles’s idea of purity culture, but the why behind purity culture is commitment of members. Once again, if members have to avoid all things that make them unclean, it increases commitment to the culture.

Cultures do what works for their culture. It is like evolution. If the culture lives in an area where raising pigs is too costly (the desert of the holy land) then that culture survives better by prohibiting pigs. If they live on an island where the pigs raise themselves, then they have to periodically kill lots of them to keep the pig population down, so you have feasts in Hawaii where they roast a bunch of pigs. If the culture has nothing to tie the people to it, then the culture weakens and dies out. The culture has to keep its people alive and it has to keep them loyal. All cultures have something to keep members loyal and WoW is one the Mormon church uses.

Now, there are there good side effects, like avoiding addiction, just like the prohibition on pigs helped the Jews survive in the desert and kept them loyal. You know it wasn’t just survival in the desert by how it was taught, and that when they moved out of the desert, they kept doing it.

I think the tacit reasoning over time has migrated to tribal cohesion. Not doing certain things is now a marker of being a Mormon, and members seem to embrace the idea of being ‘peculiar’ people.

I think you’re dramatically underselling the toxicity of sugar-laden food and drink, which, unlike tea and coffee, has no health benefits. While caffeine addiction is real, it’s still pretty mild, perhaps causing headaches and lethargy for a while after dropping the coffee habit. Sugar, on the other had, is more pernicious because it does not produce the obvious highs of other substances but instead worms its way into the diet and creates punishing cravings that, for many, end up as metabolic disease. Without exaggeration, metabolic disease and associated diabetes are potentially the illnesses that break the American healthcare system. Not caffeine, not cocaine, not meth, and arguably not opiates either. Because sugar has been added to almost everything we eat, it’s impact is not truly appreciated, but it is felt by those in public health who monitor diabetes numbers and other data.

(Steps down from soapbox). I guess that’s why I’ve always thought the WoW made no sense as a health code. It would have preserved more lives if it said wash hands regularly and boil water to avoid disease.

Eugene, while it’s not a general health code with an emphasis on health, there’s a lot in the section that many pass over such as reducing meat consumption and constant emphasis on prudence and so forth. I don’t think anyone should take it as comprehensive. Typically what you see justifying things not in D&C 89 is the appeal to having a duty to take care of our body which naturally entails eating right, avoiding damanging chemicals, and exercising. I’d be the first to recognize most members don’t do this well. It’s interesting as they have spoken about it at times and it’s even part of the youth manuals. I do wish we’d hear a bit more about it though.

Daniel Smith: I have heard and observed some interesting things about that story about Emma (which I generally like, BTW, but jeez, make them clean their own damn spittle-soaked floors). I’ve been to the Newel K. Whitney store in the upper room where the held the School of the Prophets, and if there were 22 grown men in that room in a haze of tobacco smoke in the sweltering heat and humidity of the summer months, it’s no wonder they saw visions! But another version of that story that you don’t usually hear in Church is that the women complained about the men’s tobacco smoking and chewing, and so the men (Joseph Smith) shut them up by taking away their beloved coffee and tea. Plausible? I think so.

Andy: One of our former bloggers (Fire Tag) was a practicing member of another restoration sect, and he was my source. He has unfortunately passed on.

I voted for tradition, but I’m still thinking about it. I think the coffee and tea restrictions are kept because of inertia, and not for any real valuable reason. Alcohol is another story, as members see alcohol as associated with drunkenness, violence, and a reduced ability to exercise agency.

Traditions change all the time. I think the way we celebrate Christmas has changed drastically over the last 200 years, but most people aren’t aware of it. The fact the the WoW had changed is in fact an argument in favor of tradition, or something like it. I think the best argument against tradition is that the WoW is codified and enforced in temple recommend interviews.

I think the word of wisdom was written with influence from the temperance movement of the time, and if it were written today it would be different, based on modern influences. Maybe it would even recommended two glasses of wine per day, to reduce heart disease! (I doubt it.) But it is unlikely to change any time soon. After all, like the recent post said, mistakes were made, but not by us.

I appreciate that in the Community of Christ, the WoW (Section 86 in our D&C) is considered helpful counsel rather than canonized rule. As such, you’ll find a coffee pot in just about every congregation.

You can’t give people the principle of obedience unless you give them rules to obey..

“I’m very glad,” said Pooh happily, “that I thought of giving you a Useful Pot (principle of obedience) to put things in.”
“I’m very glad,” said Piglet happily, “that I thought of giving you something (WoW) to put in a Useful Pot.”

But Eeyore wasn’t listening. He was taking the balloon out, and putting it back again, as happy as could be.

The goal of how it is taught and often practiced is related to getting members of the church to obey the leaders. The parts that are enforced are related to what the leaders have inherited more than what is healthiest.

However, I think the WoW is great even though we as a people aren’t getting as much as we can out of it. I am very appreciative of it, even though I am not a literal believer. I take the meat part very seriously (I am a non-proselyting vegan), I take the pro plants part very seriously . I take very seriously the idea that conspiring people will sell you unhealthy things to form bad habits and get repeat business. I think the tobacco part saved a huge number of lives and I am glad I have never smoked. It think the alcohol part has protected that 5-20 percent of my people who would have been on the spectrum of alcohol abuse / alcoholism, and I could have been one of those. I run and walk a lot. Green tea and coffee have been shown to be mildly healthy, unlike sodas and diet sodas, which should be avoided. I am glad they other branches of the restoration let it cool down. I let my green tea cool down before I drink it.

Nice discussion. It is good to see what different people’s feelings are.

I voted for “Other,” to let me say “Obedience” or “The prophet said so.” I keep the Word of Wisdom in the same spirit that Adam offered sacrifice. There are lots of good reasons; one of them might even by the real reason. But I keep the law because I feel that’s what the Lord wants, and I’d like my behavior to show that I follow his commands. Simple as that.

From the standpoint of the administration, the WoW is a litmus test for adherence to the leaders’ commands. The most important thing is not necessarily for members to avoid coffee, it is for them to adhere very closely to injunctions from the leaders against drinking coffee. If members adhere to little things, it is all the more likely that they will adhere to bigger things and play leadership roles in their congregations and donate very generously to tithing and other funds.

From the standpoint of the average believer, the WoW is a divine health code adherence to which is the equivalent of obeying God. Failure to adhere to it (even just once) is not just a minor foible, but a serious sin that needs repenting of.

I’m with John W. I think it’s basically a kind of obedience test. How much are we willing to do/give to the church? And various levels of worthiness and commitment are ascribed to each member according to the things they’re willing (or not) to do for the church. Just another way for the church (not God) to test its members and make sure folks are loyal and faithful to the church, because that, it seems to me, is what the church most values. I have no doubt that if one of my leaders asked me a question in any kind of interview about my obedience to a specific commandment, policy, whatever, it would be only to test my loyalty to the organization. That’s what the modern Mormon Church has turned into, W & T colleagues: an organization that cares more about cohesion, obedience and loyalty than it does about other things.

The older I get the more convinced I am that the Word of Wisdom is more spiritual than physical. Yes, addiction avoidance is definitely one aspect, but I’ve heard or read at least a couple of fascinating accounts from others not of our faith who witnessed Spirits having a greater likeliness of success in possessing the bodies of those under the influence. One basically described alcohol as making the body so uncomfortable for the spirit that it essentially leaves with only a spiritual tether of sorts to keep it connected. Kind of a far out story, but one that still resonated with me on some level. In some ways I feel evil has upped its game over the years. I feel like a stricter observance to the WoW is just one way of combating it in a way we likely either take for granted, or roll our eyes at, depending on how we feel about the Church.

Aside from the obvious physical aspects of living it, I can’t help but feel the WoW may have been especially helpful for Saints in the intermountain west. I know there is still a lot of debate about the cancer rates of down-winders vs. the rest of society, but with many cancers affecting the immune system, and the WoW’s promise that they will have “marrow in the bones,” I wonder if the intermountain Saints would be a heck of a lot worse off cancer-wise if not for the WoW. I speak societally, and not individually, since I have multiple relatives who have lost that battle. My gut says we are better off, but I really have no way of knowing for sure.

Having said all that, I don’t feel it’s number one of the Lord’s list, nor the Church’s, as much as many like to paint it that way. When my parents were newlyweds they were called to work at the state mental hospital (as it was called then). There were guys there blessing and passing the Sacrament with packs of cigarettes in their shirt pockets. When my parents approached the branch President, he simply said “They have bigger things to worry about right now.” That story taught me that the Lord values people over commandments, even though the two go hand-in-hand more often than not.

Additionally, I can say that I know a decent amount of WoW breakers that I would trust with my life and a few other things before I would quite a few recommend holders. Still, I feel blessed with the WoW.

Which Word of Wisdom are you asking about? Are you asking about the historical Section 89 of the D&C which proscribes strong drink, wine (except for sacramental use), tobacco, and hot drinks, allows for the consumption of beer, encourages a low protein, high grain diet, and promises both spiritual and temporal blessings but is not a commandment?

Are you asking about the prohibition policy which is based on section 89 of the D&C and forbids all alcoholic drinks, coffee, tea, and tobacco, is updated from time to time to include other unhealthy substances and practices such as illicit drugs, misuse of prescription medication, and vaping, and is a requirement for full standing in the church?

Don’t be fooled into thinking that there is a single Word of Wisdom because it isn’t a single practice, commandment, or lifestyle philosophy. I would also propose a third Word of Wisdom. Just as the prohibition policy has been updated to include modern substances and practices, should we not also consider a modern take on the dietary counsels found in Section 89? The promises and blessings attached to the counsels found in Section 89 were based on the diets of 19th century Americans. Can we expect to receive the same promises and blessings today if we simply follow those guidelines? Probably not since diets have changed so much. Can we expect to have health in our navel and marrow in our bones, to run and not be weary and walk and not faint while consuming excessive amounts of sugar, fat, and preservatives (which are not addressed in Section 89) while living a much more sedentary and comfortable lifestyle? Look around at your fellow ward members during Sacrament meeting this Sunday. Most of them are probably following the prohibition policy WoW, and more or less the Section 89 WoW, but I suspect many are not following the spirit of the law of the WoW and as a consequence are not enjoying the blessings promised in Section 89.

When I was a strict WoW observer, my go to explanation was avoiding substances that could be addictive or habit forming to an extent as to limit my agency by making it difficult to choose to avoid them. This justified the proscriptive elements in my mind and anything not specifically listed, such as caffeinated beverages, I tried to avoid or just use in moderation so as to not become physically dependent. I didn’t pay very much attention to the other parts of D&C 89.

That all went out the window when I started my new job and there was a refrigerator full of free sodas every day. I noticed my soda intake had gone up drastically around the same time that my beliefs were becoming less and less literal. Eventually I decided to switch to a healthier alternative, and my work also provides free coffee and tea. I started drinking coffee as an alternative to all the caffeinated sodas I had been drinking, both sugar and diet, and my experience over the past year as a coffee drinker has made me seriously question the point of the current WoW proscription against coffee and tea.

One thing I have noticed is a subtle surge of what I call a calming energy when I drink coffee in the morning. It’s this feeling of being laser focused, being more awake, but also more calm and peaceful and just happy. It’s subtle, but unlike anything I have ever experienced when I drink caffeinated sodas. It truly makes me feel just a little bit happier and even though I’m typically somewhat of a grump in the morning, after my coffee kicks in I feel so much more gregarious. I have never felt this with soda, caffeinated or not.

I also haven’t felt any cravings when I go without coffee, either over a weekend or even if I’m away from work for a week on vacation. I enjoy my coffee, but I’m fine when I don’t have it. I expected coffee to be addicting and it hasn’t been at all for me. I used to truly crave my sodas and it was difficult to avoid, but after transitioning to coffee I simply enjoy the beverage without craving it when I don’t have it. It has become one of the simple pleasures of my life, sipping coffee in the morning either by myself or with friends and waiting for the calming energy to come.

I still understand the point of some of the other proscriptions in the WoW, but after experiencing coffee first hand for a year now, I feel truly perplexed when I think about the point of abstaining from coffee and tea. Why? I can find no good answer. Coffee may not be for everyone, but I love it and I also love that I don’t need it or crave when I don’t have it.

I’m just thinking out loud here, but I wonder if tradition and tribal cohesion might not be difficult to disentangle. Tribal cohesion is something we experience across time, maybe as long a period as a lifetime. If we say we adhere to the WoW because of tribal cohesion, we feel more connected to our Mormon group when we follow it, but part of that is feeling more connected to our Mormon group of last week or a year ago or a decade or more ago. I feel like the two kind of seem to blend together.

Also, while I like the explanation that it’s increasing member commitment, I think that one also has to be understood in the context of tradition. If GAs were more interested in this principle without concern for tradition, they might require a new arbitrary sacrifice every month, or every Conference, or something. Although there are shades of this (President Nelson’s 10-day social media fast for women only), it seems like the vast majority of sacrifices that Mormons are asked to make are pretty consistent across time. Requiring new sacrifices regularly seems like a characteristic of more culty religions, and brings to mind early Mormonism: “Now we’re moving to Ohio. Now to Missouri! Now to Illinois! Now the church is organized this way! Now another way! Now I need to marry extra wives in secret, and you’ve been put on my short list!” Anyway, I feel like the benefit of increasing member commitment is certainly something that church leaders and perhaps some members see as a benefit of the WoW, but I feel like it’s a benefit that was more happened upon than planned.

After reading this I went out and had my first iced coffee from a highly recommended cafe. A friend even ordered for me to make sure I didn’t get something weird. I did not like the coffee which surprises me because I love coffee ice cream.

For me the WoW is about tribal cohesion. Or that’s what it has become. For outsiders I think the prohibition of coffee, tea, and alcohol defines LDS more than any other thing except maybe our stance on LBGT issues.

My apologies. I’m probably responsible for the mistake about McConkie. He actually opposed those who wanted to add chocolate and white bread to things excluded by the Word of Wisdom, referring to those who were in favor as “Gospel Fanatics” in the entry of the same name in Mormon Doctrine.

I picked “other” in the survey; it is what God recommends for my own benefit. To varying degree it is also everything else but none of them are why I obey. I feel this particular section of D&C is more likely inspired rather than the actual words of God, which you wouldn’t understand anyway since he speaks Íslensku.

The current version of the WoW is not a health code. Coffee and tea, and perhaps alcohol, are hardly dangerous. And taken in moderation may have beneficial elements. Rather than abstinence, moderation would be a more useful requirement. By requiring abstinence, many members are turning to far worse caffeine delivery systems. And to prescription and illegal opioids. Not a good trade off. One could argue that the WoW does more harm than good. The real plague in America is obesity.

Obviously the ban against tobacco is the one component of the WoW that does work as a health code.

The WoW is a condition for full membership in the Church. But it’s a strange requirement when you consider how the world’s eating habits have changed.

The prohibition on alcohol is one element I am thankful for because it has likely kept my family members from becoming alcoholics.. (alcoholics on my and my husband’s family tree). Alcoholism and binge drinking has destroyed many, many lives.